A Holiday by Decree
~~Day 12~~
Sansa and Tyrion walked to the lagoon, the wash of the tide on the sand left to do the talking between them.
Tyrion had noticed a new quiet about Sansa. Was it the contentment of the meal? Or perhaps it was the guards that now followed them at a distance, understanding that they were headed to a more secluded spot?
Patience, especially where there were words to be had, was still not one of Tyrion's strengths, but he was improving. Sansa shyly threaded her fingers behind her back beside him. Likely unthinkingly mirroring her, he clasped his own hands in a similar fashion, as he followed her.
Soon enough, a bend in the shoreline revealed a path of rocks, cascading from a line of emerald-hued, jungle greenery. Moss grew in patches beneath the rich shadows of bent trees that opened in a natural entryway beneath their canopy. Clearly, the small inlet was rarely affected by unruly high tides but was also not stagnant. Instead, a few fractions cooler than the surrounding area exposed to the blistering sun, this place smelled of comforting shade, fresh rain and vibrant plant-life.
A pair of birds called to each other, as Sansa and Tyrion made their way over the rocks at the direction of one of their local guards, who indicated the way into the lagoon, before pausing just before the entryway to stand guard with the others.
Noting with relief that their guard would not be shadowing them the entire way, Tyrion turned to go after Sansa. Carefully, he picked his way over the rocks cushioned with soft moss.
Preoccupied as Tyrion was, his mouth fell open when he reached the crest in the pathway a couple steps behind Sansa.
Hand coming to the supple bark of one of the trees forming the natural entrance of the lagoon, he took the scene in. The trees gave way to verdant, crawling vines that showcased soaring, pale-washed cliff walls, clearly cut away by eons of erosion to form a natural deep bowl for the calmest sapphire waters Tyrion could have ever imagined. Sunlight filtering down from above the high, warm-hued cliff walls and lush tree tops illuminated colorful reflections across the mirror-like surface of the water.
Within this natural sanctuary, the only movement apart from his and Sansa's arrival, came from a couple chinks in the cliff wall that allowed fresh water to burble down from some higher up place and the fluttering wings of a few small birds at home in the lagoon. Even the surrounding tide could only be heard at a distance, leaving Tyrion feeling awe at the pristine peacefulness into which they had passed. It felt almost unreal, and perhaps to some extent it was; having survived what they had, Tyrion was no stranger to other-worldliness.
It was in the midst of this feeling of being caught up in such energy that Sansa beckoned him down a few steps along the rocks, now turned wide and flat, to the water's edge.